SABR Defensive Index rankings released through August 3, 2014

AUGUST 11, 2014 — Atlanta's Jason Heyward tops the NL's SABR Defensive Index™ rankings through games of August 3, 2014, while Alex Gordon leads a trio of Kansas City outfielders who all rank in the top 10 of the AL SDI rankings.

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Heyward's SDI of 21.5 through August 3 is the best in the game among all qualified defenders. The top five NL players as ranked by SDI, after Heyward, are: Los Angeles third baseman Juan Uribe (14.9), Cincinnati shortstop Zack Cosart (13.2), New York center fielder Juan Lagares (11.5), and Cincinnati rookie center fielder Billy Hamilton (10.8).

Gordon's SDI of 16.8 just edges out Oakland third baseman Josh Donaldson (16.6) for the top spot in the AL. Kansas City outfielders Jarrod Dyson (10.5, ranked fourth in the AL) and Lorenzo Cain (7.3, seventh) also rank in the top 10 in the AL. Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager is third at 13.6 SDI, while Boston center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is fifth at 9.9.

The SDI results were released today by the Society for American Baseball Research.

Updated SDI results will be released periodically throughout the rest of the 2014 season at SABR.org. The SDI is compiled by the SABR Defensive Committee, which includes SABR President Vince Gennaro, Sean Forman of Baseball-Reference.com, Ben Jedlovec of Baseball Info Solutions, SABR Director F.X. Flinn, author and defensive metrics expert Chris Dial, and author Michael Humphreys.

The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering research and disseminating the history and record of baseball. Founded in 1971, SABR has more than 6,500 members worldwide and has established itself as a vibrant baseball community and a premier distributor of ground-breaking baseball information. SABR features more than 60 chapters and more than two dozen research committees, and produces three annual publications – two editions of The Baseball Research Journal and The National Pastime – in addition to other print and e-books. SABR also hosts two annual events: the National Convention each summer, and the SABR Analytics Conference in March in Phoenix. For more information about SABR, go to SABR.org.

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